I’m not going to tell you each boring, yawn-worthy detail of the Seattle Mariners’ 4-0 loss to the Texas Rangers on Friday, because I’m pretty sure I fell asleep in the second inning, by which point the Rangers had already scored twice and thus ended any chance of the Mariners winning.

And as I awoke in the bottom of the ninth, just in time to see Jack Cust ground out to first base to seal the team’s seventh consecutive loss, I noted that the Mariners had achieved exactly zero runs during my slumber, which wasn’t surprising.

OK, so I’m kidding. I was conscious the whole time. Maybe the Mariners weren’t, though, because they were shut out for the second consecutive night, the fourth time this month and the eighth time this season, slipping farther and farther into a mid-summer malaise that began in Los Angeles eight days ago and will end, oh, I don’t know, in September, maybe.

“I don’t know what I can say to you guys I haven’t said so many times before,” said Wedge afterward, and give the guy credit for not mixing any expletives into his postgame comments. “Ultimately, it’s not like we’re going out there playing bad baseball. We’re just not doing anything offensively, and it’s time and time again. It’s frustrating. It’s upsetting. I know it is for them, too.”

Also, Wedge said, “ultimately, the guys with the bats in their hands, they’re the ones who have to control it. I don’t care if they get mad at me or whoever. Ultimately, they’ve got to get up there and have more of an edge to them.”

Which sounds an awful lot like what he said pre-game: “It’s ultimately them. They’ve got the bat in their hands, they’re in the box. They can control their own destiny.”

By now it’s painfully obvious that destiny won’t include the Mariners suddenly waking up one day and figuring out how to correct whatever it is that’s led them to a MLB-worst .222 team batting average this season.

They’re also last in the majors in runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.

That’s pretty pathetic on its own. But Friday’s effort was awful even by this team’s standard. After managing a whopping five hits against Derek Holland on Thursday, the Mariners scraped together four – four! – against the all-powerful Colby Lewis, moving exactly three runners into scoring position in the process.

Gutierrez’s double was his first extra-base hit of the month. And it’s July 15th. (CORRECTED from earlier version. Apologies for the brain malfunction. The Mariners, as a team, have 17 extra-base hits in July.)

Of course, Gutierrez didn’t budge, watching as Kyle Seager and Carlos Peguero fanned helplessly, then Ichiro grounded out to shortstop to ensure the Mariners wouldn’t do anything crazy, like move a runner to third base.

“We’re way too deep in the season to continue to have games like this,” Wedge said. “It starts with me, but ultimately, they’ve got to go out there and get it done.”

Lost in the Mariners’ awesome offensive ineptitude was that Fister, who is now 3-11 with a 3.18 ERA, was mostly outstanding. Three of the Rangers’ four runs scored via sacrifice flies, though they broke through with a pair of runs in the eighth inning that chased Fister and put the game well out of reach.

“For the most part, everything went according to plan,” said Fister, the toughest-luck loser in baseball these days. “But obviously, when you’ve got one out and the bases loaded and you give up a fly ball, that’s what they’re trying to do, that’s what you’re trying to alleviate and those are things that I’ve got to stop.”

Texas scored its first run in the first inning, the product of Ian Kinsler’s leadoff double and a sac-fly hit by Josh Hamilton.

The Rangers added another run in the second, then used three hits and a sac fly to plate two more in the eighth, though none of them really mattered because, again, the Mariners don’t score anymore.

“Everybody’s pressing,” said Cust, who may be hitting higher than .207 if he pressed a little harder. “Everybody wants to get the big hit, hit the 10-run homer. It’s not going to happen. Take baby steps until you’re in the situation you want to be in.”

The Mariners did at least manage to force the Rangers to use their bullpen this time, chasing Lewis after a meager 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball. Neftali Feliz was called upon to retire Cust with two on and two out in the ninth, singles by Dustin Ackley and Adam Kennedy going for naught.

Seattle is 0-for-27 against Feliz, meaning he’s fared only slightly better in his career against the Mariners than the rest of the league has this season.

“A week ago, we were a .500 ball club and only a couple games out,” said Wedge, whose team now resides 9.5 games behind the Rangers, who have won nine consecutive games. “So we’re not that far removed from being right in this thing. We’ve been here before, we’ve fought back and I know that we’re going to fight back again. Panic’s not an option. You have to trust the length of the season, but there also has to be a sense of urgency in regard to what we’re doing and trying to get better.”

Rangers manager Ron Washington praised both Fister and Lewis afterward, saying, “Fister did a great job; Colby just did a better job.”

And then: “I hope you don’t expect us to constantly be throwing shutouts.”